The fabrication of an integrated circuit (IC) on a semiconductor wafer involves several processes, including thin film deposition, photoresist application followed by lithographic patterning, etching thin films, and removing or stripping photoresist. For example, an integrated circuit fabrication process may include depositing a blanket film of photoresist (i.e., a photoactive compound) on a wafer, and patterning the photoresist by illuminating it through a patterned mask (i.e., a photomask). The process then develops the photoresist to remove the exposed portions (in the case of a positive photoactive material). Next, the process patterns the wafer by etching, depositing and/or implanting material at the locations at which the photoresist was removed. Afterwards, the unexposed photoresist is removed using, for example, either a plasma, oxygen, or an aqueous solution or solvent to remove the photoresist from the patterned wafer. Defects in the integrated circuit can arise during any of the above process steps. Such defects include incomplete and malformed structures that prevent the integrated circuit from operating as designed.